We have yet to get out our holiday lights, but I can tell you right now it’s going to be the same story it is every year. We will get them out and it’ll take us hours to get them untangled. My husband will swear, I will have to leave the house and at least two strands will have to be replaced. I often offer to get more so we can just throw the tangled ones out, but that idea is always met with a grunt. It’s as if untangling holiday lights is something that proves my husband is a man.

My husband has good intentions. He wants to save money so he doesn’t want to buy any more holiday lights each year. They don’t cost a lot, but apparently I am missing the point when I tell him that. He takes his time and decorates for the holidays, but when it comes time to take the holiday lights down, that’s when the problems happen. Once the fun is over, he is in a huge hurry to get everything down and put away. He shoves everything into the tubs we use for storage and then wonders why they are all tangled the next year.

We used to hang holiday lights outside, but it became a bit of a joke. Just like with the inside lights, he never wanted to bother with the outside holiday lights once the season was over. They would hang outside for months. It went on for so long that I would start to get embarrassed and would have to take them down by myself. I would always find a way to hurt myself and then I would have to hear about that. I’m beginning to think he’s a big ol’ holiday grump.

This year I am going to go out and buy all new holiday lights whether he likes it or not. I don’t care if he has a fit. I am tired of hearing him complain about the tangled lights and I’m not going to put up with it this year. I am looking for new colors of holiday lights anyway, and there is no reason to fight to unwind a ball of lights that we’ve had since 1996. It’s time to move into the future and he’s going to do it, even if it means dragging him kicking and screaming while wrapped up in holiday lights that have seen better days.

Each year, a neighbor of mine seems to make it her mission to outdo every other house on the block with her Christmas yard decorations. And every year she manages to win.  She doesn’t win because of how nice it looks, she wins because she chooses to use every decoration known to mankind. Last year her yard was lit up so brightly because of her Christmas yard decorations, I didn’t need to leave any nightlights on in my house for the entire month of December.

When making the decision to engage in some outdoor decorating, perhaps some consideration should be made for your neighbors. If you don’t care what your neighbors think or are not particularly fond of them, you may not want to think about their thoughts and opinions.  You certainly don’t want people driving past your house just to gawk and giggle at your choices of Christmas yard decorations.

You may like to have your yard and décor look quite different from that of your neighbors. There are lots of things that you can do to be unique and creative, but not tacky. Stringing Christmas lights of any color across trees, bushes and porches is always something that people passing by enjoy seeing. It is easy on the eyes and gives a sense of tranquility. If you want to pick out a freestanding Christmas yard decoration, don’t pick out the biggest and most noticeable thing you can find. Lighted reindeer or sleighs in your yard can look attractive as long as they don’t become your front yard.

They key to outside decorating isn’t to shove Christmas in people’s faces, but to make them appreciate the joys of the season and the respectful decorating. If you have a small front yard, getting a large inflated Christmas yard decoration probably isn’t the best of ideas. Having a huge front yard and only decorating a tiny section of your porch isn’t a good idea either. When utilizing outdoor Christmas yard decorations, have a sense of the size of your yard first. Just because you walk through your local department store and pick out every Christmas yard decoration that you like, doesn’t mean that it will look decent in your yard.  If you’re having a neighborhood contest, it would probably capture a bit of attention if you light up your yard more than anyone else in your area.